A New Journey

For the past few years my blog has been a reflection of what my life is about at any given point. From my old blog filled with pet pictures to this site where I’ve written on topics ranging from philosophy to Doctor Who (as a side point, I would argue that those two subjects aren’t really that different), my blog has evolved with my interests.

So I decided it was appropriate to write about my newest foray into a completely different area…

A few weeks ago (actually, a month today, to be exact) I was having lunch with a friend when I began experiencing some very severe allergic reactions. Having had no prior problems with food allergies, I had no idea what was happening. It is a bit terrifying when your throat begins to constrict and suddenly you have a really hard time breathing. Thankfully the symptoms eventually subsided, but for the next few days I was pretty nervous about consuming anything, since I had no idea what triggered it.

I called my family’s physician to set up an appointment. Apparently since I had not been entered into their database, I’d have to go through a longer registration process, and the doctor wouldn’t be able to see me for a month. This was incredibly frustrating. I had a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction to an unknown food—and I’d have to deal with it for a month. I was also skeptical as to the doctor’s ability to actually diagnose my problem. I didn’t want to simply be given an inhaler or epi pen and told to “deal with it.” So the more I thought about it, the less I wanted to wait a month to figure it out. Thanks to social media, I was also trying to get some advice and suggestions from friends who had gone through similar health issues. A friend recommended a holistic doctor to me. So I googled this doctor, found her website, and was pretty interested by what I saw. On a Tuesday I called the office and explained my allergy problem. The receptionist said, “well, it looks like she can get you in on Thursday.” I was like, “whoa, you mean this Thursday? As in, 2 days from now?” After hearing that there’d be a 30 day wait for the other doctor, this was certainly a pleasant surprise.

I’ll make a long story short by saying that this holistic doctor has been amazing. I feel like going to her has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. I went away from the first appointment feeling a bit overwhelmed because I’m so accustomed to not worrying about my health. It has just been something I take for granted while I focus on everything else in my life. But I realized that having the food allergy reaction was maybe God’s way of telling me that my wellness is really important too…and something that I can’t ignore any longer.

What is it that I am doing, exactly? Well…I am currently on Day 26 of a 28 day detox diet. It is intended to “reset” the digestive process by eating clean and supplementing with probiotics and vitamins.

So I am trying to keep focused on how this experience is good for my life, overall. It is making me appreciate the struggle of people with health problems! It is making me realize that health isn’t something that should be neglected. It is making me understand how the decisions we make today about our health will impact our future—in a good or bad way.

I decided that this journey would be a lot more fun if I documented my escapades. I’d like to keep track of all the recipes I try so that I can learn from my experience. If I had been born a few years earlier, I would have started a recipe book. But instead I decided to start a blog! It is easier to keep all my food pictures and recipes separate from the rest of my blog topics, so I am actually starting a new blog. So, check out my new food blog, www.adventureswithrealfood.wordpress.com!